Mollie Huntington, Mindless Mag
How is anxiety presented?
There are many symptoms of anxiety that you may not realise, they may even be everyday factors that you simply pass off as usual behaviours. These include sleeplessness, irritability, specific phobias, trouble concentrating, over sweating or feeling excessively tired. For some, their symptoms take full control over their lives and can be incredibly intense, while others may only experience anxiety occasionally over certain situations such as starting a new job, meeting new people, being in large groups, or being in an unfamiliar position.
Further anxiety symptoms:
● Being unable to relax
● Panic attacks
● Digestive issues
● Under or overeating
● Sleeping too much
● Increased heart rate
● Racing heart
● Nausea
Anxiety can cause people to act according to their intense feelings, meaning they may cancel plans, withdraw from situations, prefer being alone or be hesitant to explore new activities. However, since this is a mental health issue in comparison to physical health, it is often not taken as seriously, as there is no way to visually understand one’s mental state. This is why it is so important to speak out about anxiety, to make those around you aware of how you are feeling/how something makes you feel, therefore support can be offered to help ease some of these symptoms.
Tips for speaking out about anxiety:
● Plan out what you want to say – this can decrease nerves and anxiety about opening up
● Ask for what you need – this will let others understand how they can be of help
● You don’t have to mention the word anxiety – as long as you can describe how you feel
How common is it?
1 in 6 people report experiencing a mental health problem like anxiety in any given week, with mixed and generalised anxiety being the most common. There are many shared factors that trigger anxiety upon different age groups. For example, those age 60+ experience more physical illnesses, causing heightened anxiety, those 30+ often juggle childcare, work, and further life expenses such as mortgages, causing stress, panic and anxiety, and those 18+ are experiencing many new elements of life, such as relationships, new jobs/careers along with pressure to succeed in higher education, also producing anxieties. We also can’t forget those of any age that have undergone a level of trauma which can be triggered and raise anxiety at any time throughout their lives, including childhood.
How can I help my anxiety? The 333 Rule
There are many ways to manage and ease symptoms of anxiety such as ensuring good sleep, staying active, or journaling, as well as cutting out bad habits such as smoking, drinking or using recreational drugs, but the 333 rule is a method of managing anxiety in the moment, during an anxiety or panic attack, or when you feel you need help right away. Here is an explanation of the 333 rule.
The 333 rule works by shifting your focus to your surroundings. During heightened anxiety look at what is around you in that moment. Name three things out loud or in your head that you can physically see, this can be anything from an aeroplane in the sky to a mirror on the wall. Once you have found and named these three objects, scan your environment by what you can hear, again name three things you can this time hear, this could be the ambiance of people talking, birds chirping or the TV. Lastly, once you’ve completed these two tasks, begin to engage your sense of touch by choosing three body parts that move, or feel around for three different textures you can feel at that moment in time, such as a cotton fleece, or denim jeans, whilst moving your fingers or wiggling your toes. These three short tasks will help ground you and generate distraction from racing thoughts/anxiety within 5 minutes. Although there is no formal research on this method, many have found it to be an extremely helpful way to manage anxiety in the moment.
How you can help those around you
● Encourage those experiencing attacks to breathe deeply and slowly
● Let them know you are aware how they are feeling
● Help shift their focus to their surroundings, offering a distraction
● If it’s okay to do so – offer physical touch, (e.g rubbing a shoulder) can help distract
● Learn the person’s anxiety symptoms – you’ll be able to help sense early symptoms
● Encourage talking to a GP – there is no shame talking to a professional about mental health
